The Red Dress
by Yuki
Summary: Syaoran shows Sakura just how much he cares... in his own strange way


The Red Dress  
Yuki  
  
Author's note:  
This has a particularly confusing time frame. I just thought this would fit the summer of their fourth grade. For any inconsistency about it, please feel free to tell me. To be honest, I'm a little confused myself and well, baka-me, I'm certainly expecting a few flames for this, but I hope you'd be gentle. This is my third CCS fic (the other two would be The Gaki and Letting Go - would I be too pathetic if I beg that you read them too? Yes, please... I'm begging you....) and I feel that I need a lot of room for improvement and I'm hoping that you guys can help me. I hope I didn't totally waste your time with this fic. Comments please! Thanks!  
  
  
Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
The Red Dress  
Yuki  
  
  
Syaoran paused in front of the mirror and growled at his reflection. He hated shopping with Mei-lin. Because she would try on every dress, look at him and ask him what he thought of it. How he managed to rope himself into this situation escaped him. His ears had been ringing with the same questions for the past couple of hours, "Is this dress too short?", "Do you think I'd look better in red? Or blue? How about purple?"   
  
It drove him insane. He loved Mei-lin, she was his friend. He was glad to spend some time with her and try to relax, get his thoughts away from his training, getting all his school work done, passing all his subjects and...and well a dozen more topics that burdens him so. But this was just his limit. He couldn't understand why and how girls like Mei-lin are so obsessed with all these - he glanced at the purple scarf Mei-lin had been admiring for the past thirty minutes - these junks.   
  
Mei-lin finally emerged from the fitting room. Syaoran raised an eyebrow. Mei-lin had on the same dress she had been wearing when they got out of the house. Apparently the green noodle strapped dress didn't fit her well. He could tell by the dark scowl on her face.   
  
"It's too small!" She whined and proceeded to attack the same rack from where she had gotten the dress.   
  
Syaoran groaned and followed her. "We can try the other stores. I'm sure they have your size." He said trying to sound patient and cheerful.   
  
"No. I want this one!" Mei-lin insisted. "See, it's so pretty and it's the only spaghetti strap dress that has a dragon on it!"   
  
Spaghetti strap. Syaoran nodded and tried to remember the term, lest he utter "noodle strap" it in front of a female population and be humiliated for life. Not noodles, but spaghetti. Man, even their clothes sound weird! Another sound caught his attention - the light tikling of bells. Curious and for lack of better things to do, he craned his neck to see who had entered the shop. The light was against the door and he couldn't make out the features of the customers. To him they were all dark shadows, but he could tell that two of them were tall guys and was accompanying a girl with almost the same height as Mei-lin. He squinted his eyes at them.  
  
"Fine. Just make it quick ok. I'm already starving." The taller boy complained.  
  
Syaoran stiffened. The voice didn't need to have any familiar ring to it. He was already sure who it was. It was Sakura's brother. The baka paranoid who had everything against him.  
  
"Ne, Touya don't be so cranky. I'm sure Sakura would find the perfect dress."   
  
Syaoran's face burned and he quickly fought the urge to hide behind the rack of clothes. It was Yukito.  
  
"Arigatou Yukito-san!" The girl chirped in giggling softly.  
  
Syaoran knew that laughter. He would know it from anywhere. It was Sakura. Her effect on him was... it was ridiculous! His heart started pounding so hard he was afraid that everyone on the store would turn to look at him and know that it was *his heart* that was making all the racket. When he heard her laugh, half of his senses went into overdrive and as always, his palms started to get cold and clammy. He swallowed hard and felt his cheeks burning. 'Relax, dammit. It's just Sakura!' He sternly told himself a little mortified at his choice of words.   
  
He immediately turned his head away and pretended to be interested in some frilly lacy gown in a hideous shade of pink and magenta. He took quick sidelong glances at the three customers. Sakura wasn't anywhere near him yet. She was wearing a navy blue summer dress that somehow brought out the greenness of her eyes. She was admiring a red dress and turned to look for the approval of her two companions. Touya managed a half-disinterested grunt. Yukito had a few nice words to say as Sakura colored prettily and hugged the dress tightly against her chest.  
  
She looked beautiful…  
  
Syaoran audibly choked and turned his head away. 'Get a grip…' he ordered himself. Deciding that his day shopping with Mei-lin had come to its conclusion, he turned his back and was ready to drag Mei-lin out of the store. Whatever it takes.   
  
  
  
Sakura returned the red dress and mindlessly ran her hand at the other clothes hanged on the rack. Tomoyo was on her summer vacation and couldn't possibly accompany her. It had been a mild surprise when her onii-chan reluctantly agreed to go and to her delight had even bought Yukito-san along.   
  
Onii-chan had reasoned out that he didn't want to get bored as Sakura tried on as many clothes as possible asking him if the dress was too short or would she look better in pink? Or red? Or maybe purple? Onii-chan had even told Yukito-san that shopping with her was a nightmare relived and he needed someone to keep him sane. She had tamped down the urge to scream at him - reminding herself that Yukito would be an audience for her un-lady like explosion, instead she decided to be discreet in her retaliation: she had silently stomped on onii-chan's foot.  
  
So, here they were, inside one of her and Tomoyo's favorite shops hoping to find a new dress. She had been giddy with excitement and joy when Yukito had fetched them from their house and although Onii-chan was his usual grumpy self, she couldn't help but feel thankful. It was a lovely perfect day and it was so nice to spend it with Yukito-san.   
  
Yukito-san. She shivered pleasantly and fought the urge to laugh out loud. This was the best day ever! She made a quick look at her brother and Yukito standing behind her discussing something about their last soccer game. She tilted her head and favored Yukito with a dreamy smile. She began walking backwards, her eyes glued to Yukito's lean frame and easy going smile.   
  
His smile.   
  
He had smiled at her for a total of ten times already and she was still internally reeling from the last grin he gave her. She wanted to look for the perfect dress that would make Yukito notice her. The most perfect wonderful dress! She was about to turn her back when she bumped into someone. Tripping over her own clumsy legs, she found herself falling into the waiting arms of a stranger. She fell face down, her cheeks pressed at someone's chest.   
  
"Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai!" She immediately mumbled, embarrassed to have made quite a scene. And in front of Yukito no less! She struggled for a moment and then slowly rose, avoiding eye contact to who ever she had ungracefully collapsed into. She was about to offer an apology again when she heard the annoyed voice of her onii-chan ringing loudly inside the store.  
  
"Get you hands off her you…you Gaki!" Touya was positively shaking with fury and Yukito was futilely trying to calm him down.   
  
Sakura turned to glare at Touya when the person underneath her spoke.   
  
"Daijoubu."   
  
Sakura whipped her head back down and found herself staring right into... "Syaoran-kun?" She let out a small gasp, realizing almost instantly how close their faces were and not to mention Syaoran's arm wrapped around her small waist. It felt...it actually felt nice. She fought the urge to lean back down again and press her cheeks on the soft material of Syaoran's T-shirt. This thought surprised her greatly and she felt her cheeks turning warm. Oh, she hoped she wasn't as red as the dress she had been holding moments ago!  
  
Syaoran had also looked up at the sound of her gasp and turned a shade darker than magenta. "K-kinomoto-san…" He choked out. Her green eyes...he hadn't noticed it before, but it had tiny golden flecks that made it sparkle. He could feel her breath on his cheeks. He realized that he had his arms on her waist, keeping her body close to him. He had done this to avoid any injuries but he hadn't thought that he'd like the feel of holding her - her palm pressing against his chest. He gulped, could she feel it? Could she feel how hard his heart was slamming into his rib cage?  
  
"Hey brat! I said get your hands off my sister, NOW!"   
  
'Huh?' He squinted up and saw the angry looming figure of Touya above him. He hurriedly scrambled to get up taking his hands off Sakura as though she burned him. He stood up and faced both Touya and Yukito.  
  
Yukito regarded him with a friendly smile and Touya gave him a venomous death glare. If looks could kill, Syaoran thought unhappily, he would be six...no….make that ten feet below the ground by now. He returned the glare and added a growl.   
  
Startled by all the noise and commotion, Mei-lin rushed out of the fitting room. She stared at Touya and Yukito for a moment and then said uncertainly, "You're not shopping for clothes here too by any chance are you?" She asked to no one in particular.  
  
"Mei-lin!" Syaoran hissed.  
  
"Iya, I'm the one shopping for a dress." A voice said. Mei-lin turned at Sakura who had also stood up, brushing her dress consciously a faint blush creeping from her neck up.   
  
Mei-lin turned to look at a coloring Syaoran, an angry looking Touya and at an abashed Sakura. "What just happened here?"  
  
No one tried to explain.   
  
  
  
Five minutes later they were all seated outside in front of a dainty ice cream parlor. Yukito had volunteered to treat them for ice cream and Mei-lin had readily agreed. Syaoran, sputtering after Mei-lin was also forced to join them, much to Touya's displeasure.   
  
Touya kept on glaring at Syaoran who sat stiffly under Touya's withering stare. Sakura sat in between them observing them quietly. Yukito and Mei-lin however were both having a great time and kept on ordering new flavors to try.  
  
After a while, Yukito noticed that neither of the three were eating. "Touya, Sakura, Syaoran, how come you're not eating?" Yukito asked concerned at their strange behavior.   
  
"Er, I'm really not that hungry Yukito-san." Sakura said the same time Syaoran and Touya began licking their ice creams on cone. They still had their eyes locked on each other, a silent challenge that no one seemed to notice except for Sakura who nervously gulped down.   
  
"Well, I better get on with my shopping." Mei-lin announced standing up. She bowed thankfully at Yukito, expressed her gratitude for the treat and then proceeded to drag Syaoran out of his seat.   
  
Yukito looked on bemusedly. "It was nice to run into them wasn't it Sakura-chan?" He asked her smiling sweetly.  
  
Sakura turned pink and nodded silently unable to speak.   
  
Touya didn't think so. "That brat just ruined my day." He announced getting up as well. "C'mmon Sakura, you need to look for that new dress right?"   
  
"We can check at the other stores." Yukito suggested falling a step beside Sakura.   
  
"Un." Sakura nodded. "But I want to go back to that store Onii-chan." Her brother glanced down at her. His patent slanted eyes searched her face. He thought for a minute and then nodded his head. Sakura beamed up at him.   
  
  
  
  
"Why are we back here again?" Syaoran complained for the hundredth time.  
  
"Because I already told you that I want this dress." Mei-lin said shoving the said dress in his face for added emphasis.   
  
"But it doesn't fit you!" He replied exasperatedly. "And you've just eaten..."  
  
"And that makes me what? Fatter?" Mei-lin asked in a voice that clearly indicated that he shouldn't answer that question. Syaoran sighed and watched as Mei-lin disappeared through the fitting room. He found himself going straight to where Sakura had been standing before she bumped into him. His eyes searched for the dress that had caught her attention. He saw it immediately as it wasn't that hard to spot. He took the red dress Sakura had been admiring off the rack. He studied it for a minute. It looked like a traditional Chinese dress, except this was a lot simpler. It had small silver flowers criss-crossing against each other and if he estimated it correctly, this would fall a few inches above Sakura's knees.   
  
It would look good on her, he thought, and then mentally kicked himself. Blushing to the root of his hair, he turned to look around; just to be sure that no one was looking at him. He took a deep breath and headed straight towards the cashier before his newfound courage failed him.   
  
He zipped his bag closed and slung it over his shoulder. He glanced back at the fitting room and wondered what had happened to Mei-lin. She had been there for more than ten minutes already. He walked towards the small cubicle and called out, "Mei-lin, are you still inside there?" He asked sounding a little incredulous.  
  
There was a muffled reply that sounded like Mei-lin. "Are you ok?" He didn't make any effort to sound concerned and he felt a little guilty when he heard a loud sniff and then a weak, "hai!"  
  
"Do you want to come out, sometime today, maybe?" He asked half annoyed. Girls! He thought rolling his eyes. Mei-lin better not be crying because the dress looked too good on her and was actually on sale! That had happened once and he was sure it could happen again.   
  
"I - I can't."  
  
"Why not?" Syaoran asked frowning at how small Mei-lin's voice sounded. She was a screecher, not a whimper. Something was up.   
  
"Be-because...I just can't ok?!" She positively wailed this time.   
  
Syaoran sighed. He had an idea on what the problem was. He was half expecting this would happen. "Mei-lin, don't be stupid, ok? What's wrong?" He asked trying to sound calm.  
  
"I - I can't take the dress off!" She said shrilly.  
  
"Great." Syaoran muttered. "I knew it."   
  
"You're not helping Syaoran!"  
  
"I'm sorry." He amended quickly. "We'll just pay for the dress, I'm sure Wei can fix it for you."  
  
"Are you sure?" There was another sniff behind the door.  
  
"Yes I am. Now come out so we can go home." He waited patiently and watched in abated breath as Mei-lin stepped out of the fitting room. Syaoran bit down the urge to laugh. The dress was probably a size smaller for Mei-lin, but because she had pulled and squeezed into it for that long she finally managed to wear it. It looked like a second skin about to burst. The problem obviously was that she couldn't take it off anymore. Syaoran doubted that there was anything Wei can do to fix it. Mei-lin would need a miracle or perhaps, a good deal of magic.   
  
He thought of Sakura and found himself smiling.  
  
"It's not funny Syaoran!" Mei-lin said, tears welling up on her eyes.  
  
Syaoran sighed. He put a comforting arm around Mei-lin and patted her on the back. "Gomen. I wasn't thinking...c'mmon, I'll pay for it so we can go home now."  
  
Mei-lin looked at him tearfully and thanked him. She knew Syaoran wasn't big on spending money especially on clothes - most especially girl's clothes! He was the most frugal person she'd ever met and she was grateful that he was willing to spend his saved allowance just because of her foolishness. She wanted to throw her arms around him and cry but knew that it would definitely annoy Syaoran to no end, so she somberly stood beside him as he handed the cashier his money. She kept murmuring apologies but eventually stopped when Syaoran threatened that he will never speak to her again if the only words that would come out of her mouth were 'sorry'. A few minutes later he led her out and walked silently beside her, clutching at his bag.   
  
Syaoran hoped the dress would fit Sakura perfectly.   
  
  
  
Sakura's face fell. The red dress was gone. Someone had already bought it. Touya looked at her silently and sighed. He hated seeing her like this. "There are lots of dresses here that would look good on you." he said taking her hand and leading her towards a different set of dresses. Yukito nodded thoughtfully and then took out a green, spaghetti strapped dress with a silver dragon flying gracefully on its hem. "Here." He said. "This matches the color of your eyes."  
  
But Sakura didn't want it. And so they went home empty handed.   
  
Both Touya and Yukito secretly wished they could do something about the red dress she fell in love with. Touya even suggested that they go to another mall in hope that they may be able to find the exact same dress, but Sakura had told him that she was already tired and wanted to go home. "Red doesn't really look good on you anyway." Touya said trying to help. Yukito elbowed him sharply. He looked at his friend quizzically, "What?!"  
  
Yukito gestured at Sakura.   
  
Sakura felt their concern and immediately looked up, plastering a smile on her face. "It's ok I'm sure whoever had the dress would be happy and I'm happy too..." She trailed off, realizing how dumb that sounded. She sighed and resumed walking. She just wanted to go home.   
  
  
  
She remained somber the whole night, even with Yukito around until dinner. Touya even cooked her favorite meal and thankfully that cheered her up a bit. He even went as far as doing her chores for the night and had taken extra care not to call her Kaijuu (but only for tonight). He even hinted that he'd allow her to sleep later than usual. Sakura declined but gave him a nice quick kiss on the cheeks before going to bed.   
  
Kero-chan greeted her even before she could close the door and she nodded at him silently, climbing to her bed.   
  
Ceruberus tilted his head at her. His previous plan of asking Sakura for the sweets she promised him for staying all alone in the house was forgotten. He wasn't used to seeing her like this, so sad and un-animated. "Hey, Sakura, what's the matter? Didn't you find any dress?" He asked sitting cross-legged by her pillow.  
  
"I did." Sakura said flopping down on her stomach and smiling sadly. "It was the perfect red dress Kero-chan! I'm sure I'd look pretty in it and Yukito-san even said so!" She said blushing slightly at the remembered words Yukito-san had told her.   
  
"Then what's the matter? Didn't you buy it? I thought your dad gave you the money." Kero-chan asked, trying not to ask for the sweets instead.   
  
Sakura told him about running into Syaoran both figuratively and literally speaking and then going for ice cream and coming back at the store only to find out that the dress was already sold.   
  
Kero-chan nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure Tomoyo-chan can make the same dress. I bet it would be prettier too."  
  
Sakura nodded. "Yukito said the green dress..." She told Kero-chan about the green dress and how it looked and how she didn't want it.  
  
"Blech! I wouldn't want you to wear that!" Kero-chan made a face. "That's the kind of dress the Chinese girl would wear!"   
  
Sakura sighed, "Besides, Onii-chan says I don't look that good in red anyway."  
  
"Eh, what do Touya know about fashion? He can't even look half decent in any of his normal clothes." Kero-chan announced. There was a loud bang exactly beneath Kero-chan's head and the yellow stuffed toy let out a shout jumping in surprise.  
  
"Gomen." Came Touya's muffled apology.   
  
Kero-chan grumbled squeezing himself into one of Sakura's emptied drawer that had become his permanent room. "Bet he made that on purpose!"  
  
"He doesn't even know that you exist Kero-chan." Sakura hissed back.  
  
"Hmmp!" Kero-chan said, unconvinced. He yawned and looked at Sakura imploringly. Sakura looked at him raising an eyebrow. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Kero-chan burst out, not able to take it anymore. "C'mon, Sakura-chan! I've been a good friend and listened about your red dress, don't you have any sweets for me?" He asked half annoyed half begging.   
  
Sakura brightened. "Of course." She jumped out of her bed and grabbed her purse. She took a brightly colored wrapper and presented it to Kero-chan who snatched it away his eyes growing quite teary.   
  
"Oh Sakura! You're the best!" He dove into the makeshift bed.   
  
"Eat it tomorrow ok." Sakura said climbing back to her bed.   
  
"Ok." Ceruberus replied unwrapping the candy and popping the sweet wing-shaped candy into his mouth.   
  
"Oyasumi nasai, Kero-chan."  
  
"Oyasumi."  
  
Sakura closed the light. She stared at the ceiling. She didn't know how long she had been like that. It was Kero-chan who broke the silence, like he knew what she was doing and wanted to cheer her up. She smiled thankfully at the concern in Kero-chan's voice.   
  
"Sakura, are you asleep?"   
  
"No."  
  
"I'm sure you'll find a better dress, so don't get too sad ok?"  
  
"Ok. Now go back to sleep." She waited until she could hear Kero-chan snoring softly. She sighed. She would find a better dress and she wasn't sad about it now. Well she had been the first few minutes. She had wanted to wear the dress for Yukito-san. He had said she'd look beautiful in it. No one had ever told her she looked beautiful. There was Tomoyo-chan of course, but it was different. And everyone described her as cute or pretty, but never beautiful.   
  
Beautiful. It sounded so...exquisite. So grown-up. And so she had been disappointed when she found out that the dress was already sold. But it wasn't the reason for her silence. It was the thought of Syaoran-kun that confused her. She remembered feeling his heart beating from underneath her palm, like it wanted to escape form Syaoran-kun's chest. And she was sure that her heart had been pounding the same way and she...she touched her cheeks. It felt warm.   
  
Exactly the same way it felt to be inside Syaoran-kun's arms.   
  
But why? Why did she feel that way?  
  
  
  
Syaoran gulped down hard. He had been standing in front of the Kinomoto house for more than five minutes. He had worked up the courage to actually walk towards their street, then to their house and finally in front of their door. The problem was, he couldn't find the nerve to ring the stupid doorbell. It's not like you're sure they're home, he told himself. Maybe they're out and so ringing the doorbell wouldn't be so much of a bad thing.  
  
He let out an oath at his own foolishness. He took a deep breath. He was here for a reason, a mission, and he would accomplish that. Ok, Syaoran, he ordered himself, ring that stupid doorbell now. He reached out and tentatively paused, as if afraid that the little knob would explode if he touched it. And then closing his eyes, he pressed the offensive button. Hard.  
  
He jumped back at the sound. He began a mental lecture on the state of his mind. He was clearly loosing it. Now, say good morning first, bow down low, give the package and run off. Perfect plan. Nothing to worry about. He waited for the door to open and felt his perfect plan evaporate into thin air. It was Touya who opened the door. And if not for the 'Welcome' mat on the door step, Syaoran would have thought that he was in any way 'welocme' in the Kinomoto household. Why couldn't they have gone out? Why couldn't Touya been out? Working somewhere in space perhaps?  
  
Touya's eyes immediately darkened. "What do you want?"  
  
Syaoran didn't know how exactly he looked, but he would bet all of his saving that he looked unpleasant enough that Touya was just about to slam the door on his face when he heard Sakura's voice from behind.  
  
"Who is it Onii-chan...Syaoran-kun!"  
  
There was a note of pleasant surprise that made him look at her. He bowed down and greeted her. He heard Touya's snort and felt his glare.   
  
"Come in!" Sakura invited him and seeing the look of displeasure in Touya's eyes, Syaoran gladly stepped in.   
  
"Here, you can borrow onii-chan's slipper's. It's a little too big, but..."  
  
"Daijoubu." He said fighting the urge to smile up at Touya smugly. Instead he turned to face Sakura, his hands bearing the clumsily wrapped gift. "Here." He said simply, practically shoving the gift into Sakura's hand.   
  
He couldn't quite look at her and so he just heard the surprised gasp and the whispered thanks. From behind them, Touya snorted out loud again.  
  
"Syaoran-kun..." His name on her lips, Syaoran finally tore his gaze off the floor and looked at Sakura. The smile she gave him was brighter than any other and it filled his heart. He felt warm and so did his cheeks. Knowing well that he was as red as the dress inside the box, he hurriedly said his good byes and even before Sakura can tell him anymore, he was out of the door taking in lungful of air.  
  
He smiled to himself a surge of energy pumping through his body. He didn't need any words, her smile… it was enough for him. Besides, he didn't want to explain himself why he bought her that dress. Because he couldn't quite explain it to himself too. And so he ran away, red faced, a little confused, but not so thoroughly any more.  
  
  
  
Sakura stood there for a while. She didn't quite understand why Syaoran would go to all the trouble of buying her a gift, wrapping it up in pink satin, (although not as perfectly fitted as the wrapped gifts she would receive from her onii-chan and otou-san) and then running off without explaining to her why.  
  
Why had he given her a gift?  
  
She looked up questioningly at her brother, hoping for an explanation, him being a boy too, he would understand Syaoran's strange behavior. Onii-chan seemed to understand the question in her eyes, but decided not to tell her the answer, instead he said, "So, open it up. Let's see what the brat gave you." There was a hint of amusement in his voice. And then suddenly brightening, Touya suggested "Or, we can just throw it out instead..."   
  
She immediately held the box away from her onii-chan's reach. Throw it away? She thought pouting. What a really mean thing to do! And she told him so. Touya snorted and crossed his arms. Sakura returned her attention to the box and held it almost reverently. She sat down on their sofa and tilted the box. There wasn't any note on it except, she was half expecting that Syaoran-kun would at least leave a note telling her what the was gift for.   
  
Upon closer inspection, she could see the tiny crumpled parts of the wrapper, especially occurring at the corner and there were way too many tapes used on it. She smiled softly at this and could just imagine how frustrating this had been for Syaoran-kun, he who has such little patience.   
  
She slowly and painstakingly took off the tapes, so very careful not to tear the pink wrapper. Several times, Touya wanted to grab the box and tear it open, the suspense was killing him! Sakura had never opened a present so...so lady-like. She had always been too excited that half of the time the gift itself would be thrown on the floor with the wrapper and box because of her haste. He teased her that it was probably a live frog. Sakura ignored her.  
  
When finally the box was opened, she felt her eyes well up with tears and she quickly but discreetly (or so she thought) wiped away the tears that threatened to fall. She reached into the box and lifted the delicate red dress. "Oh!" It was all the she could say.  
  
Touya was impressed. Obviously the kid had seen Sakura admiring the dress. But he was more than annoyed to show how impressed he actually was. "So he was the one who bought it!" He said out loud instead. Like it didn't matter that Syaoran had actually bought it for his sister.   
  
"Syaoran-kun..." Sakura said, her eyes lowered. She clutched at the dress and then, without another word, bolted up stairs, toppling the box and scattering the wrapping paper on the floor. Touya looked up and shook his head.  
  
The boy was trouble.  
  
  
Sakura hugged the dress. She was crying and it was so silly of her to cry! She wasn't upset, it was just, this gift...this gesture; it bought too many questions on her mind.   
  
Syaoran-kun. She thought feeling her heart beat faster. "Syaoran-kun...why?"  
  
She didn't need the answer. Because deep down, she already know it. And she was thankful. And best of all, she was happy. But she was also scared, because if she felt this way for Syaoran and then she felt almost exactly the same for Yukito-san... then... then what did it mean?  
  
  
  
The phone rang for the second time before Syaoran picked it up. There was a pause on the end of the line and he already knew who it was. The tentative 'hi' made him feel a little giddy. "Sakura." He said simply. He paused and listened for a while. A smile spreading on his face, although his eyes were sad. "You're welcome Sakura. I...I just thought you'd be happy with it...good. Does...does it fit you because I can give it back at the store and you can look for....no? Ok then. I'm...I'm glad. Thanks. Ok. See you tomorrow. Oyasumi Sakura."  
  
There was a click on the end of the line. Syaoran sighed. She was happy. That was all that mattered to him.   
  
"Syaoran look! Wei fixed my dress! Come here! Look! It's perfect!" Mei-lin squealed from the other room.   
  
Syaoran smiled. Sakura liked the dress and it fitted her well! "Coming!" He yelled heading towards Mei-lin's voice.  
  
  
  
  
"So, what did he said?  
  
"He said...he said he wanted me to be happy Kero-chan." Sakura said, still clutching at the red dress.  
  
"And are you?" Kero-chan asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Hai." Sakura said, smiling. "I am."  
  
Whatever it was that still remained unsaid between her and Syaoran, it was enough for her right now. Someday, they will say it face to face. And then, she'd be really happy. But for now, she can wear the red dress and imagine it as Syaoran's strong arms wrapped around her.  
  
Blushing and shivering with suppressed delight, Sakura collapsed into the bed, closed her eyes and dreamt of dancing with Syaoran wearing the red dress that he'd given her.   
  
It was the best dream she had had for a very long time. And someday, that dream would no longer remain in her heart, but it would come true. She was sure of it.   
  
  
End notes:  
So, how was it? Please feel free to tell me what you think. I'm looking forward to hearing from you! 


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